People who use flash photography on animals should be beaten on the soles of their feet with reeds until they can't walk, and then pelted with ice berg lettuce heads and rotten tomatoes until they manage to crawl out of town or we run out of nasty produce.

Also we should kindly they don't do it again, at the edge of town, but still kindly.

This. Not to mention, well, any animal shows. I showed my fair share of animals in 4-H in my youth. And of the sheep, most were heritage breeding stock, and stood from the rest. They got plenty of attention. Especially the rams. And this was over four or five days, in a tent (later an open-air barn), in the summer. Some of the sheep liked it better than others -- one particularly docile ram loved the attention -- but all of them helped people to learn more about livestock diversity. Or at least that some sheep have horns. And of course I was at the fair to watch over my sheep and take care of them.

I don't know how much anyone is actually learning from Grumpy Cat, but arguably her owners are in the best position to know how much she can handle. They may be getting a lot of publicity out of this, but it doesn't sound like they're getting rich or anything.

Rich Cream:Treygreen13: What, would you imagine, Grumpy Cat would do with money?

Not saying that he should get it. Only that they are exploiting the situation (cat's popularity) while denying doing that very same thing.

But that's just it. He's a cat. He'll lay around and look grumpy whether or not he's famous. They're not selling his fur to make Grumpy Quilts. The owners of Grumpy Cat taking him to a music festival so he can be petted and ooh'd and aah'd over isn't exploitation because Grumpy Cat doesn't lose anything. Because he's a cat.

And the money/fame will guarantee that the cat can have the best food/treats/toys/medical care for the rest of his life.

There was a very fat kitty who showed up at an animal shelter. The shelter milked it for all the publicity they could get. They flew out to NYC with the cat to show him off on some daytime shows. The cat died a week later of a heart attack.

So, no. If you have an animal with some kind of health problem or genetic defect, you don't tote it around.

The article mentions that Maru's owner refuses to do any kind of PR stuff, even at Maru's own home. I have a lot of respect for that person.

grumpy cat does what grumpy cat wants to do. now, seeing a horse on the Letterman show set makes me wonder how much trauma that poor thing went through, big city noise and smog, bright lights live audience etcetera. some people are arseholes.

atomicmask:Just when I think user content is better entertainment then paid television, I see this shiat and realize its about 5 times more retarded then any jersey shore or any other MTV trash can ever be.

its a cat with a stupid face, the joke was over after the first picture.

gregscott:You know, grumpy cat is lucky. If he were a chicken, we would normally just eat him. Doing little or no work, he's actually supporting his human, not the other way around. So good for his owner. Whoever complains is just secretly jealous.

Yeah, THIS.

Owners of pigs exploit them by eating them or selling them to other people to eat, as do owners of cows, chickens, lambs, goats, alligators, and numerous other animals.

The cat gets to live, probably eats well, and in exchange has to meet lots of people. The cat won't be eaten. And anyone whining about it needs to STFU and GTFO.

If she were mine, I wouldn't take her out and about. Though she may not look stressed it doesn't mean she isn't. She's not exactly a normal little cat. Hopefully she won't have to do this sort of thing often.

And since this thread needs more pictures, here are a couple (the other kitty is her brother Pokey, who has the same genetic weirdness).

doglover:People who use flash photography on animals should be beaten on the soles of their feet with reeds until they can't walk, and then pelted with ice berg lettuce heads and rotten tomatoes until they manage to crawl out of town or we run out of nasty produce.

Also we should kindly they don't do it again, at the edge of town, but still kindly.

You sound cruel and inhumane, like somebody who has taken flash photos of his children.Seriously, our eyes and nerves work pretty just like those of our pets.If it isn't cruel to use flash when photographing people, why would you assume it's cruel and inhuman to use flash on animals?

Treygreen13:Rich Cream: Treygreen13: But that's just it. He's a cat. He'll lay around and look grumpy whether or not he's famous. They're not selling his fur to make Grumpy Quilts. The owners of Grumpy Cat taking him to a music festival so he can be petted and ooh'd and aah'd over isn't exploitation because Grumpy Cat doesn't lose anything. Because he's a cat.

And the money/fame will guarantee that the cat can have the best food/treats/toys/medical care for the rest of his life.

You need to lose something to be exploited? Ummm, no.

1. use or utilization, especially for profit: the exploitation of newly discovered oil fields. 2. selfish utilization: He got ahead through the exploitation of his friends. 3. the combined, often varied, use of public-relations and advertising techniques to promote a person, movie, product, etc. You're arguing 2. I'm saying 1 and 3.

Oh, so what you meant was the neutral definition of exploitation. So using him in any way is "exploitation". Got it. Would taking a picture of him and putting it on a website be exploitation, under your definition? How about letting someone come see him at their house? Also exploitation, right? How about telling somebody about Grumpy Cat? Also exploitation?

Yeah, that's exploitation. Your assumption is that "exploiting" something is de facto bad. Use or utilization of something for profit is not always bad. Although use of the word "exploitation" has generally negative connotations, it doesn't NEED to be bad. In this case, the "use or utilization" of Grumpy Cat does not harm the cat, but is "exploitation" of a resource under the neutral definition. But it's not a bad thing as "exploitation" is often considered.

You know, grumpy cat is lucky. If he were a chicken, we would normally just eat him. Doing little or no work, he's actually supporting his human, not the other way around. So good for his owner. Whoever complains is just secretly jealous.